Basketball fans are in for a treat later this evening as we’ve served up a pair of mouth-watering NBA games that will definitely whet your sporting appetite. Kicking things off tonight is the much-anticipated clash between the Toronto Raptors and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Following shortly thereafter is the showdown between the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.
Read on below for a quick breakdown of these two matchups and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of New England vs. Seattle.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder stretched their unbeaten run to two games with a convincing 97-85 victory over the Miami Heat on Monday. Enes Kanter scored a season-high 24 points for the surging Thunder who are off to their best start through seven games (6-1) since relocating from Seattle. They will look to sustain the momentum of that huge win when they face the Toronto Raptors later tonight. The Thunder will fancy their chances of doing just that as they have fared extremely well at home of late. OKC is 4-0 at Chesapeake Energy Arena this season.
For the Thunder to preserve their unbeaten home record tonight, they will need to put the clamps on Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan. He has been on an impressive run for the Raptors, averaging 33.7 points on 52 percent shooting to start the season. DeRozan scored just 23 points (the first time this season he’s been held under 30) in Toronto’s 96-91 loss to Sacramento on Sunday night.
Writer’s Prediction
Oklahoma City wins, 98-87.
Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs (9:30 PM ET)
What in the world is happening to San Antonio? The Spurs crashed to their second straight home defeat with a humiliating 116-92 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. That’s quite a shock considering the five-time NBA champions won 40 of their 41 regular-season games at the AT&T Center last season.
They will look to get their season back on track when they host the Houston Rockets this evening. The good news for the Spurs is that Tony Parker will be making his much-anticipated return tonight. He missed San Antonio’s past three games with a hyperextended knee. Parker will help boost a Spurs offense that shot just 40.5 percent from the field in the loss to the Clippers.
It was their defense, however, that was the main culprit in that lopsided defeat. The Spurs allowed 39 points in the first quarter and 73 by halftime in that loss to the Clips. It was just the second time in Gregg Popovich’s 21-year tenure as Spurs coach that an opponent scored 70 or more points in a half. They will need to devise a scheme to stop James Harden if they are to avoid a three-game home losing skid. Harden has been unstoppable for the Rockets, averaging 31.6 points and 12.7 assists per game this season.
